Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0006286, Tue, 1 Jan 2002 10:18:40 -0800

Subject
Pun in "Transparent Things." (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Jane Morrison <JaneMorrison@compuserve.com>

"oses" is, I assume, "Poses" from which the P and a preceding
number or word have dropped off. "Photo" is a feminine noun in French and
means both the technique of photography and the product of it. "Oser" is a
verb meaning to dare, or to undertake despite difficulties. Thus if you
wanted to say, in French, "Three daring photos" or "Three photos that (we)
dared to take" it would be "3 photos osées".

Cheers and Happy 2002.
Paul Montgomery
Lausanne, Switzerland